My working hypothesis
My working hypothesis draws from my modal examples and from my training in issues of social justice. I want to employ a complex methodology that considers and incorporates differing viewpoints to identify models that can be used on a local level to bring about substantial change. My goals are to make this feel more like a dialogue rather than a diatribe about what can be done. My hope is to make this body of work something more than just homework for a class.
As such, I am going to introduce my hypothesis with an anecdote.
One of the most powerful experiences that I ever had regarding race was during a training session for a rape crisis center in DC. This training had about 40 women of varying ages and races in attendance. This particular session was designed to cover the topic of race. What started off as a very polite conversation quickly, and unexpectedly became very real. We spoke honestly about the fears we have about race, and the isolation we felt from each other. We spoke our minds bluntly, and with clarity. Some of us were brought to tears, but we were all significantly closer as a group after that moment. We were all there to work towards social justice, still we carried the pain of silence and shame with us to the group. It was only by having this very raw, introspective, personal experience that we were able to walk away from it feeling changed.
As such my hypothesis recognizes four things:
1. The existing discourse is primarily aimed at deconstructing and identifying uses of race in larger society and not about solutions or possibilities for change.
2. The crux of the problem lies in the continued push for hegemony fueled by capitalistic ideals of individualism and self-promotion.
3. Most successful models of the diffusion of racism are found in safe, neutral spaces such as art-based gatherings and events. (Race may still function on different levels through the economic striation of service classes--food vendors, maintenance workers, police interactions, etc., but some progress is made.)
4. The more successful models are situations where change is sought on a micro level and not through overarching public policies. (De-segregation didn't actually work, even though segregation was made illegal.) I believe that examples of diverse communities do not arise organically, but deliberately as forms of active resistance.
--
As such, I am going to introduce my hypothesis with an anecdote.
One of the most powerful experiences that I ever had regarding race was during a training session for a rape crisis center in DC. This training had about 40 women of varying ages and races in attendance. This particular session was designed to cover the topic of race. What started off as a very polite conversation quickly, and unexpectedly became very real. We spoke honestly about the fears we have about race, and the isolation we felt from each other. We spoke our minds bluntly, and with clarity. Some of us were brought to tears, but we were all significantly closer as a group after that moment. We were all there to work towards social justice, still we carried the pain of silence and shame with us to the group. It was only by having this very raw, introspective, personal experience that we were able to walk away from it feeling changed.
As such my hypothesis recognizes four things:
1. The existing discourse is primarily aimed at deconstructing and identifying uses of race in larger society and not about solutions or possibilities for change.
2. The crux of the problem lies in the continued push for hegemony fueled by capitalistic ideals of individualism and self-promotion.
3. Most successful models of the diffusion of racism are found in safe, neutral spaces such as art-based gatherings and events. (Race may still function on different levels through the economic striation of service classes--food vendors, maintenance workers, police interactions, etc., but some progress is made.)
4. The more successful models are situations where change is sought on a micro level and not through overarching public policies. (De-segregation didn't actually work, even though segregation was made illegal.) I believe that examples of diverse communities do not arise organically, but deliberately as forms of active resistance.
--
posted by R. Kiah Morris at 6:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home